Averting generator disasters

•The deaths will continue until we find a solution to the power problem

What a sad thing to note that generator fumes have in recent times posed serious challenges to human existence in the country. This much was amplified through the report of a recent survey by the Good Governance Initiative (GGI), a non-Governmental Organisation based in Lagos. The report of the study that revealed that over 10,000 people died from inhaled generator fumes in the past 20 years is damning.

Festus Mbisogu, GGI Coordinator, put it succinctly; “…over 10,000 Nigerians have been killed by generator fumes and explosions in the last 20 years.” We know that the record of casualties could be higher but for the poor record keeping profile in the country. The gory result of the survey underscores the condemnable state of electricity in the land today despite purported power sector reforms that have gulped billions of dollars of oil and tax payers’ money over the years. Yet, Nigerians in their various homes cannot boast of stable power supply, compelling them to rely solely on individual efforts of buying generating sets to power their homes and corporate concerns.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s current attempt through his touted power sector reform is far from yielding the desired result. Mbisogu painted a pathetic picture of the problem when he declared: “Most families and businesses spend a large portion of their income on generator purchase, service and maintenance. Despite the fact that the power sector has been privatised, there is no relief in sight.” He further stated “… the manufacturing sector spends over N800bn yearly on generators. The banking sector and other private sector concerns spend about N1.6tn on generators, while the average Nigerian family spends between N60, 000 and N100, 000 monthly on fuel and maintenance of generators.’’

Despite the huge investment in the power sector, we wonder why the country’s power sector is in dire straits while the use of the generators has since, shamefully, become a defining factor of the economic status of individuals/households in both rural and urban-city settlements. Generators, especially the smaller ones, are used indoors and without adequate ventilation. Because of this, homes and churches have reported gory tales of deaths arising from generator fumes. In some cases, entire families had been wiped out as a result of people inhaling dangerous fumes from their generating sets.

We believe that these unfortunate deaths would have been stopped but for the wrong energy policy of successive administrations in the land. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has been privatised over some months now, yet power remains epileptic. Government is helplessly not bothered, which is why there is no effective regulation to moderate the importation of quality generators into the country.

We consider as shameful the fact that Aso Rock, the federal seat of power, and Government Houses across the federation, spend millions yearly to maintain their generators without seeing anything unusual about this. Something has to be done to make power stable in the country so that Nigerians can throw away their generators, saving millions of lives from lethal generator fumes in the process.